The invention relates to a structure for supporting a trackway of a track following transportation system, particularly, of a magnetic suspension railroad, comprising at least one support, at least one equipment element having an operational surface extending in a track direction, and means for securing the equipment element on the support and including fixing bolts. The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing such a supporting structure.
Trackways, in cement or steel version (ZEV-Glas. Ann. 105, 1981, No. 7/8, pages 205-215, U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,895) for track following transportation system comprise generally a plurality of supporting structures extending one behind the other along the track and on which are mounted all equipment elements necessary for operation of the system, in particular, for transporting, guiding, driving, braking, etc. of system cars. In a magnetic suspension railroad, for example, each supporting structure includes a bent-resistant support to which an equipment element in a form of lateral guide strips, reaction strips of an elongate stator of a motor are attached. At that, the support is supported by studs anchored in a foundation by any appropriate method.
To secure an equipment element to a support generally fixing bolts are used. The bolt extends through bores in the equipment element and respective thread bores in the support and with their head engaging the equipment element. At that, the fixing bolt should be stable to transmit to the support forces and torques transmitted to the equipment element by the car. To this end the axes of the fixing bolts generally extend transverse to operational surfaces of the equipment elements. The latter also serves for a proper positioning of the equipment elements or their operational surfaces relative to the support in accordance with the track course, i.e. the given line.
Securing of each equipment element to a corresponding support is effected preferably with two pairs of fixing bolts which form a redundant securing system. To avoid failure of the fixing bolts, the fixing bolts should have a very high quality, without manufacturing defects, and have dimensions corresponding to an expected load. In view of the large number of fixing elements required (more than thousand per one kilometer of a trackway), however, the provision of a multiple redundant securing System by the use of high quality and high dimensional stability bolts is not very economic. Besides, the number of fixing bolts because of a restricted place cannot be arbitrarily increased. Further, in view of a large number of fixing bolts required for each equipment element, it is practically not possible to conduct all necessary inspections for the fixing bolts of a trackway in short time distances.
The foregoing problem exists also in other known supporting structures (German Patents 3,111,385; 2,604,688) in which for securing an equipment element fixing bolts are used. With partial failure of these bolts, act on remaining bolts and, must absorb the forces which act during movement of a car along the supporting structure, in selected directions.